Auction sales are proving to be as popular and exciting a selling method for products and services over the Internet as historically auctions have been in their live or physical sense.
There have evolved at least two different methods of conducting an auction sale online, the first being a static auction where there is no auctioneer and where the auction is basically open for a period of time within which a bidder can at their leisure submit a bid on a product and then check back later to see if it is necessary to submit another bid. The second type of auction which is now becoming more available over the Internet and which offers a higher level of excitement and quicker resolution for the seller is that of a live auction. A live auction consists of a moderated bidding session within a short period of time which in most ways resembles a bidding session at a physical auction sale except insofar as the bidding takes place over a computer network rather than in person. In the case of higher priced items, the live or combined physical and live auctions over the Internet offer greater potential to the seller, since greater excitement can be generated within a limited bidding session and a higher price obtained for products if more bids are placed within that time frame.